Hey man, just wanna say I’m a big fan of what you do. You’ve helped me grow and change a lot of things in my life in very short time. Whenever you publish a video, write an essay or do any of your work, don’t forget you’re helping others, even from overseas.
I don't want to study literature or take the same career path as most of this community does, I'm learning marketing. However I love this channel and all of Robin's videos because they give me insight, expand my vocabulary, and provide culture to my life. This channel is helping me pick better books, appreciate literature, and again just creates a subconscious culture of knowledge that influences how I go about my day.
I'm constantly surrounded by non-academics whom I struggle to have conversations with. When I talk with them it's like I'm trying to communicate with a brick wall. I've always felt that it's us vs them. I feel like we are on two different planets speaking different languages. Some part of me wants to seal the gap between us and "normal people." But at the same time, I love being part of this "mad scientist" or the "contemporary philosophers" group. At this point in my rather short and inexperienced life I don't know what to do.
Ok Robin, last comment, I promise. We definitely need to find a new way for readers to find something positive, or meaningfull to them, in what they're reading. Or has everything that can be said already been said? I recall back in my days at university that there was an idea that there is nothing that can be imagined that hasn't already been imagined by now. I didn't buy that concept then, and I still don't today. Thoughts, ideas, and concepts evolve, just as our imaginations, hopes, and dreams evolve. Finding the bridge between academia and the everyday person is a challenge.
One of my teachers told us a story about how egyptologists discovered some hieroglyphics by and author who lamented that everything worth writing has always been written. What’s important to remember about writing is that it’s hard to be “original” and that there’s a lot of problems with the attempt. Writing is a method of conveying thoughts and ideas between people in a nonverbal or visual format, right? Well, what’s always been the problem with the flip side, reading? Interpretation. If we both read the same book then I it’s going to be quite possible that I interpret it differently from you based on a lot of variables such as life experience, age, even how we executed the act of reading can change the way we interpret things, and so much more. The reason why these differences matter is because that’s an issue writers face every time they put pen to paper. So when it comes to writing the idea that’s never been thought, there’s the fundamental problem of portraying that in a way that readers won’t get lost or confused. Another issues is that humans are built to look for patterns. That’s why we see faces everywhere, our brain is just wired to find patterns. This poses a problem when it comes to interpretation because it means that everybody is going to recognize patterns found within the story. For example, is Agatha Christie’s series on Hercule Poirot and original idea? Has the whole detective with a doctor side kick thing been done before the 30s or so? You might be saying, “Well of course! Haven’t you heard of Sherlock Holmes? The greatest detective to ever detect?” He’s truly an original work of fiction, right? Wrong… Well, kinda. Conan Doyle wrote Holmes as fanfiction. He’s completely based off of a character written by Edgar Allan Poe. DuPont, if I remember correctly. “There!” You may say, “then Poe is definitely an author who came up with an original idea! Mystery stories!” But is that really true? Yes, Poe has been accredited with being the daddy of detective fiction but there’s things to be said about it. Some scholars believe that Poe took inspiration, purposefully or not, from the urban legend stories that were very popular at the time and the only reason why he ended up writing DuPont is because he wanted to BE DuPont (which I mean same). My phone is glitching out so I’m going to wrap it up by saying that original ideas are in the eye of the beholder. You have to explain what you think an original idea is and why it’s original because we are programmed to not be and even if we are, we take from real life experiences in order help us write and we take from stories that we’ve seen or heard.
Im writing my MA thesis on Sartre and Diderot aesthetics about theater. I could summarize it like this: the paradox on the actor between being and nothing. I talk about alienation and also about the concept of human comedy and parallelisms between author-actor-philosopher. I read a lot of the books in french, but also english (Im italian). Noone has ever written anything on Diderot and Sartre lol but I'm loving writing it so far. Id do well in a phd program but the acedemic path doesn't really inspire me for many reasons. Still its good to follow a channel like yours talk about such fascinating topics. Thank you ❤
I remember very well what it was like to be in the academia world. Boy, that was a long time ago for me, but sounds like it hasn't changed much. Thanks Robin
As a Literary theory student I've read some of Derrida's work and I suffered and enjoyed it at the same time. It's been a year or so since I last read some of his work for my master's degree and now thanks to your video I kinda miss it.
Derrida 😳 The first thing I read in grad school was Derrida. We spent an entire session discussing the difference between difference and différance as part of an intro to critical theory class. I remember thinking it would be similar to critical theory classes I had taken as an undergrad… … … After the initial mental shock, I actually enjoyed Derrida’s work.
I think the most difficult part is breaking through his writing style, and eventually the way he writes makes complete sense because he’s using the very tool he’s trying to deconstruct. Quite fascinating. I’m currently digging through The Post Card and it’s both an infuriating and fascinating read.
My MA theis advisor encouraged me to go into a PhD program but I balked. I have been working in public education as a teacher for the last seven years. I am thankful I rejected academia because I have had a far greater impact on students than if I enter higher education.
Thank you for making this and for providing neutral observations on academia. I've been interested in pursuing literature at the grad level and this documentation is super valuable to me.
You are totally right about translations. I have had a similar experience but for different reasons. The thing is that the translator needs to have a deep understanding of both languages (original and translation), what the author is attempting to convey, but also things like culture and history and how that can be properly communicated through the use of language without taking too many liberties. Then there are things that cannot be translated at all. There is always something that is lost in a translation. The more difficult the language and the fewer the people who speak it, the more that is lost. This is why I have stopped buying books in Greek unless they are written by a Greek or Cypriot author. The rest I buy in English and some in German. It really makes a huge difference.
Watching this makes me glad I chose doing an MLIS rather than MA in English😭 I would love to read some of this stuff… but if I had to get a grade on it, my brain would have a melt down
As one that has accomplished upper level graduate degrees, have fun. But don’t lose yourself in the silo. Don’t become a entrenched academic that becomes myopic. Get out and experience all areas, all sides. Don’t generalize to populations. Enjoy.
My guess for the difference in pricing on academic materials is that the fact that they have a much smaller target audience / a much smaller cut of the market buys them, makes them much more expensive to publish- hence the pricing.
I 've reminisce about Bescherelle conjugaison when I watch your videos, I know it is for really for newbies. Your french is much better than Brad Pitt's italian! Keep up the good work! :)
J'avais l'habitude d'acheter exclusivement des livres papier, mais maintenant que j'ai un reMarkable j'achète uniquement des livres qui sont difficiles à lire s'ils ne sont pas en format papier (e.g. la phénoménologie de l'esprit)
Getting into academia is super challenging. I had a complete breakdown last semester when I had to read Eliot, there were other writers and texts ofcourse but Eliot was the most challenging one for me. I'm currently reading Biographia Literaria (Coleridge), An Apology for Poetry (Sidney), On the Sublime (Longinus) and A Defence of Poetry (Shelley), and I feel completely exhausted, both mentally and physically, all the reading is making me mad.
Hi Robin ! Great video….Theory & Practice and The Thief’s Journal seem to be extremely interesting, great recommendations ! Also, in the age of sometimes annoying and despicable ‘YA’ ‘Romance’ ‘Fantasy’ and now ‘Romantasy’ (feeling disgusted while I type this), how do you manage to find meaningful fiction books which you read along with your non fiction books? Do you still do this - reading fiction & non fiction simultaneously?
This is something I am trying to do as I am going into an English major, just to have books I am reading, plus a commonplace book to read over and have my own ideas jotted down. I am very interested in literature, art, and history and have been for a while now and I really want to use my passions to make a better world for everyone. Do you have any book recommendations that I could start with?
Wait, you said if you have too much political theory you're going to wind up in some ivory tower, but if you have too little you're going to be guided by some ridiculous actions because you don't' have that framework. I'm going to have to ponder that for a while Robin. Thanks for giving me something to think about.
I’m actually going to make a video about this idea (not in terms of politics but in terms of how we can use ideas to better ourselves). Specifically: how much do we need to read to live a good life? Thanks Bill. :)
@@roguefaustus Do you mean the difference between reasoned and experienced? A priori versus a posteriori? I'm not sure. I'm torn between the idea of doing to accomplish something and the notion of just conceptualizing something to accomplish it. Am I missing something?
Great point! And this relates directly to Kant’s idea of Reason, where he believed that reason grounds both practical actions and pure speculations. Since he provided a good synthesis between empiricism and rationalism, we can apply the same insight to theory/practice.
Hey, I‘ve written an essay about the understanding of texts by reading, referring to Blanchot and Derrida. It is written in German. If you want to read it: let me know and I‘ll send it to you. I‘ll write my master‘s thesis about the dispute between Derrida and Searle. Therefore I‘m always happy having a „digital partner“ in you. :-)
Best of luck with your thesis! Searle vs Derrida is such a fascinating field of debate in language philosophy and I can’t wait to see what you produce. My area is mainly in literary criticism and the recent movement called: postcritique. The basic idea is that scholars in the anglophone tend to dismiss Derrida and reduce him to “deconstruction”, however after a few close readings of Derrida’s work (in the original French) it’s obvious that Derrida never intended to put forth “deconstruction” as a method. The thesis will point out this discrepancy and challenge the anglophone’s common misreadings. Again, best of luck “digital partner”!
@@RCWaldun thanks a lot, best wishes for you, my „digital partner“, as well! :) I highly recommend you his text „mes chances“ that resumes his way of thinking (literature and language) well. Working myself through it really forced my understanding of Derrida.
Hello Robin I was recently interested in your videos and your advices on reading books , so I thought that You're the only one that really worth asking a question which is , How to read complicated psychology books written by Freud and others , my problem here is that my native language is arabic and my english isn't good enough to read these type of books , can you assist me with a good advice , a good dict by your choose and some books that'll develop my language , it would be even better to be a psychology books , thanks
May I can ask you something? I guess it's weird for non-philosophy students. How do you get over the anxiety, that you understand the philosophy text wrong? I am writing on my first philosophy work about Kant. At some points, I read the words but feel unsure about my interpretation. I read the secundary lecture and at some points they get a different conclusion or don't hit the point, where I struggle. It is a daily philosophy student struggle, or am I just to anxious?
I have a question in reading fiction. How do you take notes on fiction? Do we take notes on fiction? Feel as if the point is to be taken on a journey and taking notes would remove me from the world, but I feel as if I would forget too fast if I don’t.
On a first reading I only highlight excerpts I find beautiful (and yes, a good novel is supposed to take you on a journey), and if I'm writing a paper on the novel I'll use those highlighted excerpts as anchor points to derive themes and points of analysis. Hope it helped.
Schopenhauer witnessed post Napoleonic devastation with later address remark towards innovative genesis birth outside certain walls; yet you are ensconsed within its womb, for whatever purpose, amidst literature readily available elsewhere. And, obviously not a Boethius clone captive tyrannical astigmatism, while still seeming to have questioned your choice said locus. I didn't start college until twenty one but had walked life's razored edge with inkling of interior shadows. Perhaps you've strode similar darkness. I tender this advice, leave academe as soon as possible. You will only find definite answer outside of it.
Hey man, just wanna say I’m a big fan of what you do. You’ve helped me grow and change a lot of things in my life in very short time. Whenever you publish a video, write an essay or do any of your work, don’t forget you’re helping others, even from overseas.
i’m taking my own steps into architecture academia rn it’s nice to know i’m not walking through hell alone
Best of luck! And you're definitely not walking through hell alone.
BABE WAKE UP NEW ROBIN VIDEO JUST DROPPED
I don't want to study literature or take the same career path as most of this community does, I'm learning marketing. However I love this channel and all of Robin's videos because they give me insight, expand my vocabulary, and provide culture to my life. This channel is helping me pick better books, appreciate literature, and again just creates a subconscious culture of knowledge that influences how I go about my day.
You have a certain elegance to your videos, I love it!
I'm constantly surrounded by non-academics whom I struggle to have conversations with. When I talk with them it's like I'm trying to communicate with a brick wall. I've always felt that it's us vs them. I feel like we are on two different planets speaking different languages. Some part of me wants to seal the gap between us and "normal people." But at the same time, I love being part of this "mad scientist" or the "contemporary philosophers" group. At this point in my rather short and inexperienced life I don't know what to do.
hmm, seems like a problem of one, judgement, two lack of empathy and sympathy for other's. Maybe you are too focused on yourself.
@@logia7 Yeah, I'm thinking that's it. I seriously have to work on myself.
@@logia7
Grammar, baby
@@jasminegold6890 i think we all feel the same way. Some don’t realize it, some do.
Ok Robin, last comment, I promise. We definitely need to find a new way for readers to find something positive, or meaningfull to them, in what they're reading. Or has everything that can be said already been said? I recall back in my days at university that there was an idea that there is nothing that can be imagined that hasn't already been imagined by now. I didn't buy that concept then, and I still don't today. Thoughts, ideas, and concepts evolve, just as our imaginations, hopes, and dreams evolve. Finding the bridge between academia and the everyday person is a challenge.
One of my teachers told us a story about how egyptologists discovered some hieroglyphics by and author who lamented that everything worth writing has always been written. What’s important to remember about writing is that it’s hard to be “original” and that there’s a lot of problems with the attempt. Writing is a method of conveying thoughts and ideas between people in a nonverbal or visual format, right? Well, what’s always been the problem with the flip side, reading? Interpretation. If we both read the same book then I it’s going to be quite possible that I interpret it differently from you based on a lot of variables such as life experience, age, even how we executed the act of reading can change the way we interpret things, and so much more. The reason why these differences matter is because that’s an issue writers face every time they put pen to paper. So when it comes to writing the idea that’s never been thought, there’s the fundamental problem of portraying that in a way that readers won’t get lost or confused.
Another issues is that humans are built to look for patterns. That’s why we see faces everywhere, our brain is just wired to find patterns. This poses a problem when it comes to interpretation because it means that everybody is going to recognize patterns found within the story. For example, is Agatha Christie’s series on Hercule Poirot and original idea? Has the whole detective with a doctor side kick thing been done before the 30s or so? You might be saying, “Well of course! Haven’t you heard of Sherlock Holmes? The greatest detective to ever detect?” He’s truly an original work of fiction, right? Wrong… Well, kinda. Conan Doyle wrote Holmes as fanfiction. He’s completely based off of a character written by Edgar Allan Poe. DuPont, if I remember correctly. “There!” You may say, “then Poe is definitely an author who came up with an original idea! Mystery stories!” But is that really true? Yes, Poe has been accredited with being the daddy of detective fiction but there’s things to be said about it. Some scholars believe that Poe took inspiration, purposefully or not, from the urban legend stories that were very popular at the time and the only reason why he ended up writing DuPont is because he wanted to BE DuPont (which I mean same).
My phone is glitching out so I’m going to wrap it up by saying that original ideas are in the eye of the beholder. You have to explain what you think an original idea is and why it’s original because we are programmed to not be and even if we are, we take from real life experiences in order help us write and we take from stories that we’ve seen or heard.
Perfect timing for this video… stuck at home with a sick child slowly going nuts!!! Thanks for giving me something to watch and think about!
$60 for such a thin book is so expensive, but I don’t know… you just can’t beat a physical book! I’d buy the physical over the online any day!!
Im writing my MA thesis on Sartre and Diderot aesthetics about theater. I could summarize it like this: the paradox on the actor between being and nothing. I talk about alienation and also about the concept of human comedy and parallelisms between author-actor-philosopher. I read a lot of the books in french, but also english (Im italian). Noone has ever written anything on Diderot and Sartre lol but I'm loving writing it so far. Id do well in a phd program but the acedemic path doesn't really inspire me for many reasons. Still its good to follow a channel like yours talk about such fascinating topics. Thank you ❤
I love your topic and the connections you are making. Good luck with your thesis!
@@OddPisceanPoet thxxxx 💛
I remember very well what it was like to be in the academia world. Boy, that was a long time ago for me, but sounds like it hasn't changed much. Thanks Robin
As a Literary theory student I've read some of Derrida's work and I suffered and enjoyed it at the same time. It's been a year or so since I last read some of his work for my master's degree and now thanks to your video I kinda miss it.
Thoroughly enjoyed this different turn in your channel's content! Looking forward to the next video too!
Derrida 😳 The first thing I read in grad school was Derrida. We spent an entire session discussing the difference between difference and différance as part of an intro to critical theory class. I remember thinking it would be similar to critical theory classes I had taken as an undergrad… … … After the initial mental shock, I actually enjoyed Derrida’s work.
I think the most difficult part is breaking through his writing style, and eventually the way he writes makes complete sense because he’s using the very tool he’s trying to deconstruct. Quite fascinating. I’m currently digging through The Post Card and it’s both an infuriating and fascinating read.
My MA theis advisor encouraged me to go into a PhD program but I balked. I have been working in public education as a teacher for the last seven years. I am thankful I rejected academia because I have had a far greater impact on students than if I enter higher education.
As someone who decided to teach high school English instead of doing a PhD, I appreciate your thesis topic. Look forward to hearing more about it.
Thank you for making this and for providing neutral observations on academia. I've been interested in pursuing literature at the grad level and this documentation is super valuable to me.
Robin is growing a little mustache 😃
You are totally right about translations. I have had a similar experience but for different reasons. The thing is that the translator needs to have a deep understanding of both languages (original and translation), what the author is attempting to convey, but also things like culture and history and how that can be properly communicated through the use of language without taking too many liberties. Then there are things that cannot be translated at all. There is always something that is lost in a translation. The more difficult the language and the fewer the people who speak it, the more that is lost. This is why I have stopped buying books in Greek unless they are written by a Greek or Cypriot author. The rest I buy in English and some in German. It really makes a huge difference.
Watching this makes me glad I chose doing an MLIS rather than MA in English😭 I would love to read some of this stuff… but if I had to get a grade on it, my brain would have a melt down
As one that has accomplished upper level graduate degrees, have fun. But don’t lose yourself in the silo. Don’t become a entrenched academic that becomes myopic. Get out and experience all areas, all sides. Don’t generalize to populations. Enjoy.
Best of luck on Fear and Trembling mate.
My guess for the difference in pricing on academic materials is that the fact that they have a much smaller target audience / a much smaller cut of the market buys them, makes them much more expensive to publish- hence the pricing.
Fear and Trembling...gets better after the 3rd or 4th go through😂.
So I heard. 😂
I 've reminisce about Bescherelle conjugaison when I watch your videos, I know it is for really for newbies. Your french is much better than Brad Pitt's italian! Keep up the good work! :)
Bescherelle is every French student’s nightmare. 🥲
Favorite RUclipsr
J'avais l'habitude d'acheter exclusivement des livres papier, mais maintenant que j'ai un reMarkable j'achète uniquement des livres qui sont difficiles à lire s'ils ne sont pas en format papier (e.g. la phénoménologie de l'esprit)
fascinating stuff🤔
Getting into academia is super challenging. I had a complete breakdown last semester when I had to read Eliot, there were other writers and texts ofcourse but Eliot was the most challenging one for me. I'm currently reading Biographia Literaria (Coleridge), An Apology for Poetry (Sidney), On the Sublime (Longinus) and A Defence of Poetry (Shelley), and I feel completely exhausted, both mentally and physically, all the reading is making me mad.
Good luck you can do this! :D
This is the 3blue1brown of the humanities. 😂
Hi Robin ! Great video….Theory & Practice and The Thief’s Journal seem to be extremely interesting, great recommendations ! Also, in the age of sometimes annoying and despicable ‘YA’ ‘Romance’ ‘Fantasy’ and now ‘Romantasy’ (feeling disgusted while I type this), how do you manage to find meaningful fiction books which you read along with your non fiction books? Do you still do this - reading fiction & non fiction simultaneously?
This is something I am trying to do as I am going into an English major, just to have books I am reading, plus a commonplace book to read over and have my own ideas jotted down. I am very interested in literature, art, and history and have been for a while now and I really want to use my passions to make a better world for everyone. Do you have any book recommendations that I could start with?
Wait, you said if you have too much political theory you're going to wind up in some ivory tower, but if you have too little you're going to be guided by some ridiculous actions because you don't' have that framework. I'm going to have to ponder that for a while Robin. Thanks for giving me something to think about.
I’m actually going to make a video about this idea (not in terms of politics but in terms of how we can use ideas to better ourselves). Specifically: how much do we need to read to live a good life? Thanks Bill. :)
@@RCWaldun You do that, and I'll be right there to catch your insights. You've sent me down a rabbit trail, and I like the challenge.
@@roguefaustus Do you mean the difference between reasoned and experienced? A priori versus a posteriori? I'm not sure. I'm torn between the idea of doing to accomplish something and the notion of just conceptualizing something to accomplish it. Am I missing something?
Great point! And this relates directly to Kant’s idea of Reason, where he believed that reason grounds both practical actions and pure speculations. Since he provided a good synthesis between empiricism and rationalism, we can apply the same insight to theory/practice.
Hey, I‘ve written an essay about the understanding of texts by reading, referring to Blanchot and Derrida. It is written in German. If you want to read it: let me know and I‘ll send it to you.
I‘ll write my master‘s thesis about the dispute between Derrida and Searle. Therefore I‘m always happy having a „digital partner“ in you. :-)
Best of luck with your thesis! Searle vs Derrida is such a fascinating field of debate in language philosophy and I can’t wait to see what you produce. My area is mainly in literary criticism and the recent movement called: postcritique. The basic idea is that scholars in the anglophone tend to dismiss Derrida and reduce him to “deconstruction”, however after a few close readings of Derrida’s work (in the original French) it’s obvious that Derrida never intended to put forth “deconstruction” as a method. The thesis will point out this discrepancy and challenge the anglophone’s common misreadings.
Again, best of luck “digital partner”!
@@RCWaldun thanks a lot, best wishes for you, my „digital partner“, as well! :)
I highly recommend you his text „mes chances“ that resumes his way of thinking (literature and language) well. Working myself through it really forced my understanding of Derrida.
Hello Robin
I was recently interested in your videos and your advices on reading books , so I thought that You're the only one that really worth asking a question which is , How to read complicated psychology books written by Freud and others , my problem here is that my native language is arabic and my english isn't good enough to read these type of books , can you assist me with a good advice , a good dict by your choose and some books that'll develop my language , it would be even better to be a psychology books , thanks
Mind fudge books 😂
May I can ask you something? I guess it's weird for non-philosophy students. How do you get over the anxiety, that you understand the philosophy text wrong? I am writing on my first philosophy work about Kant. At some points, I read the words but feel unsure about my interpretation. I read the secundary lecture and at some points they get a different conclusion or don't hit the point, where I struggle. It is a daily philosophy student struggle, or am I just to anxious?
I have a question in reading fiction. How do you take notes on fiction? Do we take notes on fiction? Feel as if the point is to be taken on a journey and taking notes would remove me from the world, but I feel as if I would forget too fast if I don’t.
On a first reading I only highlight excerpts I find beautiful (and yes, a good novel is supposed to take you on a journey), and if I'm writing a paper on the novel I'll use those highlighted excerpts as anchor points to derive themes and points of analysis. Hope it helped.
@@RCWaldun thank you!
Noooo Dude, Camille Paglias’ Break Blow Burn and then Sexual Personae is all you need. F Derrida
no I don't like Robin I just happen to be extra passionate about his coming video essay ❤
Le moostache
Why Derrida?
Why not?
Absolutely fascinating.
@@RCWaldunbecause it might destroy your world view and offer no substitutions. At least that is what Of Grammatology did to me
Schopenhauer witnessed post Napoleonic devastation with later address remark towards innovative genesis birth outside certain walls; yet you are ensconsed within its womb, for whatever purpose, amidst literature readily available elsewhere. And, obviously not a Boethius clone captive tyrannical astigmatism, while still seeming to have questioned your choice said locus. I didn't start college until twenty one but had walked life's razored edge with inkling of interior shadows. Perhaps you've strode similar darkness. I tender this advice, leave academe as soon as possible. You will only find definite answer outside of it.
dude, you don't need to start the video rambling for 2 minutes about nothing.
Good vid otherwise
Hey, big fan sir big fan
Seeing Kierkegaard in there was a really nice surprise!
I'm really into his philosophy and love to see who he influenced.
I hope you'll like the read!
Learn German. We have so many words that don't exist in English and we have a few good and depressing books as well lol
Where did you get the fear and trembling copy?
Thank you, Robin, as your RUclips work is valuable, enjoyable, educational and I think - original.
Impressive..
Мне понравилось в «Дневнике вора» то, насколько возвышенным языком Жене описывает низменные вещи (и это у него гармонично сочетается)
Following you diligently ❤ May you keep creating such awesome content forever. God bless 🙏